The Gators’ secondary couldn’t decide what it wanted to be Saturday night.
In Florida’s 36-30 triple-overtime victory against Kentucky, coach Will Muschamp’s "talent over experience" defensive backfield had its share of highlights — such as Keanu Neal’s two interceptions and Brian Poole’s crucial deflection in the third overtime.
But it was the secondary that nearly cost Florida the win in the first place.
The Wildcats’ 369 passing yards were the most allowed by a Gators defense since Michigan threw for 373 yards on Jan. 1, 2008.
"We’ve just got to tie some things up in the secondary," Muschamp said after the game. "They had six big plays for 173 yards. ... That was very frustrating."
Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles threw three touchdown passes ranging from 25 to 60 yards that gave his team the lead in each occasion. Towles found wide receiver Garrett Johnson twice in the third quarter for scores and Stanley Williams once in overtime.
But besides the scoring, it was the big plays on third down that had Muschamp most disappointed in his secondary Saturday night.
Late in the third quarter, Florida had Kentucky backed up on its own 37-yard line facing third-and-10. The Gators had just grabbed a three-point advantage and a defensive stop in the Wildcats’ territory would have generated some much-needed momentum.
Instead, blown assignments by Duke Dawson and Keanu Neal gave Towles a wide-open target in Johnson for a 30-yard pickup. Towles went back to Johnson for a 33-yard touchdown on the next play.
And in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 20, Kentucky faced a daunting third-and-16 situation on its own 1-yard line. After Darious Cummings sacked Towles for a loss of 12 yards on the previous play, it appeared that UF’s defense would hold to give its offense decent field position to start the next drive.
But once again, loose coverage — this time by Marcus Maye — gave Johnson a lane down the middle of the field and Towles found him for a 22-yard gain.
"We were just soft on coverage on 3rd down," Muschamp said. "And that’s really stupid. And that’s on me. We’ll get it corrected."
Still, two plays after Florida surrendered that third-down conversion, Neal came up with his second interception of the game to halt Kentucky’s potential game-winning drive.
And in the third overtime, Towles had an opportunity to burn Florida’s secondary once again on a deep pass on third-and-9. But Brian Poole won the 50-50 jump ball over Kentucky’s Dorian Baker, which forced UK to attempt a 41-yard field goal that was eventually missed.
"That’s a 50-50 ball," Muschamp said. "I know from the stands that looks easy. That’s a really hard thing. It’s a hard task to do some of the things we ask those guys to do."
Florida’s secondary flashed its talent with athletic plays from Neal and Poole, but Muschamp said the unit needs to communicate better if it expects to limit big plays from other Southeastern Conference opponents.
Throughout fall camp, Muschamp harped on his defensive backs — especially his safeties — for not corresponding information well enough on the field, and it showed Saturday.
"Those are things we’ve got to continue to work through," Muschamp said. "We need to communicate better on the back end and it starts at the safety position."
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @Jczupryn
Florida safety Keanu Neal (42) intercepts a pass intended for Kentucky wide receiver Javess Blue (8) during the Gators' 36-30 triple-overtime win against the Wildcats on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
